Bulletin from the Office of Public Works ISSUE 19 : JUNE 2008

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OPTIMISING POWER @ WORK A STAFF ENERGY AWARENESS CAMPAIGN IN STATE BUILDINGS Climate change is potentially the most serious man-made problem to affect human civilisation in the history of the planet. The latest scientific research predicts that the consequences of rising air temperatures will have devastating social and economic consequences on a truly global scale. One of the main drivers of climate change is the over production of harmful greenhouse gases, of which Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) is the most significant. Over 40% of the CO 2 produced in Ireland is from buildings. The primary source of CO 2 emissions from buildings is due to energy consumption in order to provide heating, cooling, lighting and electrical power. Minister Noel Ahern with Jim O'Sullivan, Conor Clarke and Sarah Ní Rúairc, M&E Services
The Office of Public Works (OPW) is responsible for one of the largest property portfolios in the State. Among the larger buildings the vast majority provide office accommodation for the various Civil Service departments. The OPW is in a key position to achieve significant energy savings and consequently reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in its existing building stock. The OPW is spearheading a major staff energy awareness initiative in 250 large State buildings. Highly motivated and energy conscientious staff offer the single largest opportunity for zero-cost energy savings in office buildings. The ethos of “Switching Off” equipment when not in use when applied across a large number of people will lead to substantial energy savings. In 2007 the OPW conducted 2 pilot staff energy awareness campaigns in 10 buildings. The target was to reduce energy consumption in each building by 10% through local energy conservation campaigns, energy workshops and close monitoring of the performance of heating/air conditioning equipment. The results of the pilot studies showed that annual energy savings of up to 16% were achievable. They also demonstrated however, that in buildings where there was no buy-in from senior management/no motivated energy officer, energy consumption could just as easily increase. Based on the success of the pilot studies, in January 2008 the OPW launched a State-wide staff energy awareness campaign in 250 buildings, entitled “Optimising Power @ Work”. The aim of the campaign is to reduce Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from each building by an average of 15% over an 18-month period. The target for each building has been set in terms of CO 2 emissions as opposed to energy consumption (kWh) reduction. This is due to the fact that staff have the ability to directly influence electrical consumption by switching equipment off when it is not in use. As CO 2 emissions per unit of electricity are significantly higher than per unit of natural gas/fuel oil, small savings in electrical consumption lead to large savings in CO 2 emissions. By setting the targets in CO 2 emissions, staff can readily influence the performance of their building. It was noted in the pilot studies that staff were not aware of the amount of CO 2 that is produced by electricity. In a typical building fumes are observed emanating from the boiler flues and people can equate this to CO 2 production. The perception however is that electricity is a much cleaner fuel as there are no obvious local emissions. A simple explanation of power station efficiencies and transmission losses, as part of the presentation to staff, illustrates the importance of using electricity efficiently. Each presentation is also tailored to show the actual electrical load profile in the building over the previous week and an explanation is given as to where there is potential for savings, i.e. reducing the night load, reducing the base load and switching off equipment as soon as possible when it is no longer required. The graph can then be compared week on week as the campaign progresses, to monitor the results of the efforts in the building. 7
Page 1 and 2: Bulletin from the Office of Public
Page 3 and 4: WELCOME TO ISSUE 19 OF OBAIR MAGAZI
Page 5 and 6: Minister Mansergh with Commissioner
Page 7: The front façade of Oldbridge Hous
Page 11 and 12: ARAS AN UACHTARÁIN PEACE BELL A
Page 13 and 14: DEFIBRILLATOR TRAINING PROGRAMME IN
Page 15 and 16: GO WILD! GET ON BOARD THE NEW PHOEN
Page 17 and 18: OPW HELPS MAKES GLASNEVIN CEMETERY
Page 19 and 20: The restoration work has brought pu
Page 21 and 22: Mr. John Hurley, Governor of the Ce
Page 23 and 24: Original Scheme The original scheme
Page 25 and 26: Clonmel East Scheme • The protect
Page 27 and 28: On Sunday 8th June 2008 the new Fru
Page 29 and 30: Project Team Heritage Services Arch
Page 31 and 32: DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, HERI
Page 33 and 34: ROOFING OF THE SOUTH-WEST TOWER AT
Page 36: Published by Office of Public Works

Bulletin from the Office of Public Works ISSUE 19 : JUNE 2008

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